Echotech or Gyre?

[rachelsreef]

Looking to get new powerheads for my JBJ 45, I was thinking MP10’s x2 or some sort of Gyre. What’s your experience with these brands and which one would you recommend?

 

[budau18]

I currently have a mp40 and a maxspect gyre.
I vote for the vortech.
First I’ll detail my experience with the gyre. It’s great and moves a insane amount of water. However. Mine always quits on a regular basis I am forced to clean it once every coupe weeks. It just seized up and makes a clicking sound while the motor tries to turn. I have also dealt with warranty I got sent a new motor, and two replacement paddles and some bushings.
Now once the new parts went in it worked well for the first little while after the first cleaning. Same thing clogs itself up less then once a month.

Now the vortech. I got mine after the gyre to see which I like better. hands down the vortech for me. It powers through anything, it has never given me an issue or failed it still moves a lot of water. I really like all the extra program options on it as well. Also no cords in the tank

To sum up my experience I have a gyre that sits in a cupboard cause let’s face it, who wants to spend all your tank maintenance time trying to fix the gyre. And a mp40 in the tank that I feel like I could let it run and never maintain it without issues. It costs more now but it will outlast and outperform the gyre. Just my opinion. I went gyre the first time because it was cheaper and ... I got what I paid for in comparison to the pricey vortech

 

[MTBake]

I own vortechs and ice cap 3k gyre. Both have their pros and cons. I have a hard time recommending one over the other.

 

[nashvillian]

One MP 10 on 90-100% should be sufficient, unless you want syncronized flow

 

[Justfebreezeit]

If you want a lower maintenance option without buying extra parts to just swap out, then I recommend the MP. Cleaning the wetside is so easy. No need to unplug and take over to the sink.

 

[reefwiser]

Gyres are a bear to clean. I clean my vortechs all the time at least twice a month to keep the flow high. I have a Gyre but do not love its cleaning ability.

 

[Smite]

Gyre move a tone of indirect flow since you can place them close to the waters surface. They loss output quickly as the become dirty so they need to be cleaned often. They do come with an extra set of impellers/gaurds that makes cleaning a little easier. They have an in tank cord which sucks for eurobraced tanks. I have an older xf150, still going strong after years but controllability is nothing compared to the vortechs, not sure on the new controllers though. I love both pumps, cant beat ecotechs customer service.

 

[cracker]

I really like the flow from my Maxpect gyres however like Bu said they keep breaking down & need new bushing & such I have one now that needs to be rebuilt. this isn't even 2 years old & has been pulled many times. I almost started a post earier today asking if the Ice caps were mire sturdy. I sure wish my Maxpects were .

 

[MTBake]

I've owned my Ice Cap 3k for 6 months. Pulled it out 3 weeks ago for its first cleaning. The original bushings still look like new. I was going to swap them out for the new bushings, but didn't see a need to. I run it on continuous mode set at 40%. I can see this wearing faster if the speed is alternating. It adds more load to the propellers if speed ramps up and down, imo. I also buy a larger pump than needed so it isn't ran at full capacity. I feel this can extend life of equipment. Just my opinion.

 

[stacksoner]

For whatever reason, BRS was touting the gyre hardcore on the BRS160. I think this is the only reason why people think it's comparable to the Ecotech MPs.

Gyres are a gimmicky and I personally equate them to buying a Slap Chop when one needs a reliable set of chef's knives for the kitchen.

If you look at their recent videos with WWC, you'll see that BRS quietly outfitted MP's on every tank and no longer pushes the Gyre as a miracle flowmaker.

 

[Jamie7907]

Gyres move way more water than the mp’s. I have both on my 600 and two gyres move more water than 4 mp60s. The gyres are easy enough to clean with a little citric acid or vinegar. Wet side magnets continue to fail realeasing metals into the tank and are quite costly to replace every 2 years, also the MPs aren’t aimable, they only flow one way even if it would be better another way. Not to beat up on just the MPs, gyres aren’t quite as robust in build quality. Gyres have limited native controllability though you can use an adapter and build your own program if you own an apex and you aren’t using the 280 gyre which there’s no adapter for. Not a big deal for me because I run two at the surface at 100% continually. I clean them once every six months or so. Cleaning is about the same for either. Replacement parts are far more expensive for the MPs and are going up in price, my last dry side was$275, wet sides are $100. I’m in the process of replacing all of my MPs with tunze pumps which are far more reliable long term, push water farther and are aimable all of which are important to me.

 

[stacksoner]

Gyres move way more water than the mp’s.

This is insanely anecdotal. You're saying that the paddlewheel displaces more water/has greater propulison than a screw propeller?? There's a reason why you don't see boats or airplanes or fans with paddlewheel designs----because they're obsolete.

The event that settled the argument took place in April 1845. A screw-driven ship named Rattler and the paddlewheel steamer named Necto were both ships of similar size and power. They were joined stern to stern and engaged in a bizarre tug o'war in the North Sea. The winner was the 200 hp Rattler, which towed the Necto backwards for 5 miles.

 

[Jamie7907]

This is insanely anecdotal. You're saying that the paddlewheel displaces more water/has greater propulison than a screw propeller??

In this specific case yes I am saying that they move more water. Propulsion is not directly relevant here and a number of other factors come into play.

There's a reason why you don't see boats or airplanes or fans with paddlewheel designs----because they're obsolete.

What is obsolete is this flawed study.

The event that settled the argument took place in April 1845. A screw-driven ship named Rattler and the paddlewheel steamer named Necto were both ships of similar size and power. They were joined stern to stern and engaged in a bizarre tug o'war in the North Sea. The winner was the 200 hp Rattler, which towed the Necto backwards for 5 miles.

This experiment is subjective, it may or may not prove anything at all and no mention was made of currents, wind direction/speed or any other factors that could have and likely did influence the outcome, especially in 1845 which was almost 200 years ago. Hull shape, blade pitch and weight all also need to be taken into account. And furthermore NO paddle wheel powered ship ever kept the paddle wheel 100% submerged as the gyre pumps are.

I’m telling you for a fact that TWO gyre 280s move more water in my 600gallon tank than FOUR mp60s and it’s easy to tell the difference visually. I can shut off both gyres wait 15 minutes and there will be very little coral movement and none at the far end 8’ away. Doing the same thing in reverse running just the gyres and there is much more coral movement ALL the way across the tank not just 4-5’ away from the pump. And don’t take my word for it look it up, numerous other people with large tanks have experienced the same thing I have. To go one step further even though it’s an apples to oranges comparison Tunze did an experiment comparing their pumps against the vortechs and clearly showed that their pumps move more water, farther than a comparably sized vortech, the mp60 could barely push water 5’ in a 6’ tank. Don’t get me wrong the eco tech pumps are nice, hell I own 10 of them not including 4 return pumps and they have some nice features that a gyre style pump will probably never have or be capable of but in no way do they move more water than a comparably sized gyre pump. The ecotech pumps are generally better built than the gyre pumps though the ecotech pumps are notorious for rusting and causing problems. The first generation of the gyre pumps were complete trash imo, they were unreliable, cords fell apart in water and they had to be cleaned at least monthly but the second generation fixed all of those problems.

 

[dbjonesjr]

This is insanely anecdotal. You're saying that the paddlewheel displaces more water/has greater propulison than a screw propeller?? There's a reason why you don't see boats or airplanes or fans with paddlewheel designs----because they're obsolete.

The event that settled the argument took place in April 1845. A screw-driven ship named Rattler and the paddlewheel steamer named Necto were both ships of similar size and power. They were joined stern to stern and engaged in a bizarre tug o'war in the North Sea. The winner was the 200 hp Rattler, which towed the Necto backwards for 5 miles.

I'm not one to bash opinions... But this is a terrible comparison.
In addition to the points about flow in general, let's not forget that the MP10's would end up being much more costly than a singular Icecap or even Maxspect pump.

 

[greg 45]

I don't mind cleaning them at all. I have 6 of them in my system. I only remove the sides and wash them in muriatic acid. I did replace the square plastic squares on the motor that used to strip out . No longer have that issue. My only downside was the leds in the controller went dim and could not read them. I sent in pictures and they were replaced no questions asked. What upsets me is the ne controllers doesn't have the same grye program as the old controllers. I asked them and this program was discontinued .